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The calm before the storm

Thus, for several years, everyone went on with their lives, happily jumping from bed to bed, until Christine, probably looking for something a bit more exciting, took up with two West Indians: a jazz piano player Aloysius "Lucky" Gordon; and Johnny Edgecombe a jealous criminal associate of Peter Rachman. The two had already been in a knife fight over her and while she was hiding-out from Johnny, with Mandy at Stephen Ward’s muse cottage pied-à-terre, five shots were fired into the building and the police were called.

Both West Indians were charged with assorted offences. As their trials began details of Stephen Ward’s lifestyle started to become public. This was juicy stuff and The Screws (News) of the World interviewed Christine and offered financial inducements to tell all. Injunctions and threats of actions for defamation flew. The paparazzi went into overdrive. Photographs of people variously smiling into the cameras or scurrying away under coats and newspapers blossomed in the media. In the midst of this excitement Christine stepped it up a notch by briefly fleeing the country to France, providing a story that could be published.

Christine was the principal prosecution witness against Lucky Gordon. She was found to be lying and confessed. Convicted of perjury she served a nine month jail term.

Profumo had been named as an ex-lover. First he denied everything. Then he admitted being there but not doing anything. Then finally he admitted having the affair but not of telling her anything of a secret nature. But at the outset he had made a false statement to the House. He was obliged to resign from Parliament and went on to be on his best behaviour elsewhere as a pillar of the establishment until his death. Dozens of books, documentaries, films and dramatisations followed. Whenever there is a resurgence in interest in the scandal, poor John and his exemplary family are invariably depicted as the victims of ongoing media harassment and distress.

Many have suggested that his demise was harsh considering that Bill Clinton effectively got away with the same lie.

Unfortunately for John Profumo he told his lies in Parliament where there are very strict rules surrounding being caught.

On the other hand maybe his was the better deal. I can’t imagine any schoolboy pinning-up a photo of Monica Lewinsky sitting naked on a chair.

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Travel

Poland

Poland

Berlin

We were to drive to Poland from Berlin. In September and October 2014 were in Berlin to meet and spend some time with my new grandson, Leander. But because we were concerned that we might be a burden to entertain for a whole month-and-a-half, what with the demands of a five month old baby and so on, we had pre-planned a number of side-trips. The last of these was to Poland.

To pick up the car that I had booked months before, we caught the U-Bahn from Magdalenenstraße, close to Emily's home in Lichtenberg, to Alexanderplatz. Quick - about 15 minutes - and easy.

Fiction, Recollections & News

A Womens' view

Introduction

The following article presents a report by Jordan Baker, as part of her history assignment when she was in year 10 at North Sydney Girls’ High School. For this assignment she interviewed her mother, grandmother and great-grandmother about their lives as girls; and the changes they had experienced; particularly in respect of the freedoms they were allowed.

Opinions and Philosophy

Tragedy in Norway

The extraordinary tragedy in Norway points yet again to the dangers of extremism in any religion.

I find it hard to comprehend that anyone can hold their religious beliefs so strongly that they are driven to carefully plan then systematically kill others. Yet it seems to happen all to often.

The Norwegian murderer, Anders Behring Breivik, reportedly quotes Sydney's Cardinal Pell, John Howard and Peter Costello in his manifesto. Breivik apparently sees himself as a Christian Knight on a renewed Crusade to stem the influx of Muslims to Europe; and to Norway in particular.